Sabian Ride Comparison - Artisan 22", AAX Memphis 21", AAX Omni 22"

Boy love that Artisan, my fave of those. The Omni is very nice and overall seems most versatile (for any genres) of the three. The Memphis was very dry, thick and harsh, and not a very nice crashable sound at all, so really not my cup of tea.
 
Agreed that Artisan 22 sounds splendid, and makes a great large crash. The other are good but the Artisan really stands out.
 
Nice sounding rides.

I have the AAX 22 Omni and I like it. It is a bit too light (unless mic'd) for some of the louder stuff we play, so it washes out a bit much. I have taken recently to playing two rides. So I'll put a pingier ride up as the main and use the omni on the far right instead of a china. It has a great trashy crash and then I can do lighter washier riding too. I'm glad I got it.

Of the three the Memphis Ride sounds the best to me. It has a very nice crash even though the stick sound has good cut. I wanted one for a few years now but I have something else similar so I can't really justify it.

The Artisan is certainly beautiful. It's pretty dark. It sounds very similar to the K Light Ride.

I think they do play well together and depending upon the music they're used for you could easily get away with using no conventional crashes.

Which one is your favorite?
 
Thanks for the feedback! I just bought the Omni new a few days ago and am giving it a good run through (30-day return!) I've hit a few and this one sounded best.

I'm actually having a great time with it! Even though it's not a heavy ride, it has more stick articulation on the unlathed part than any of the other rides. I need to try it with the band, but I'm hoping it comes through more than the Memphis.

The Memphis is a very cool cymbal IMO, but doesn't cut that much and is a little heavy to crash. The crash isn't very loud on it.

The Artisan is downright addicting. My favorite ride cymbal that I've owned. The only problem is that it's a huge wash when playing with my rock band, so it stays home for when I try to act like a jazz player. But yeah, it's the most fun for sure. Feels awesome too!
 
The Artisan is downright addicting. My favorite ride cymbal that I've owned. The only problem is that it's a huge wash when playing with my rock band, so it stays home for when I try to act like a jazz player. But yeah, it's the most fun for sure. Feels awesome too!

Do you mic your drums with your band? If you do the normal kick and snare with maybe a hi-hat mic.. ..try this -

I moved my hi-hat mic over under my ride (a dry K Custom) and it remedied all of the same complaints you have about the Memphis Ride in a Rock band context.

You will be surprised how much better a lighter or (in the Memphis Ride case) a bit drier ride will sound when it gets its cut from a little sound reinforcement.

I can't use my 24 K Light Ride without a mic. Everybody I play with has said they can't hear it. Probably a similar band context issue with the Artisan.

Just a thought. I am slowly going deaf so maybe I just like beefier rides these days when the volume goes up. Feel wise, I do like lighter rides. They are more fun to play.
 
Do you mic your drums with your band? If you do the normal kick and snare with maybe a hi-hat mic.. ..try this -

I moved my hi-hat mic over under my ride (a dry K Custom) and it remedied all of the same complaints you have about the Memphis Ride in a Rock band context.

You will be surprised how much better a lighter or (in the Memphis Ride case) a bit drier ride will sound when it gets its cut from a little sound reinforcement.

I can't use my 24 K Light Ride without a mic. Everybody I play with has said they can't hear it. Probably a similar band context issue with the Artisan.

Just a thought. I am slowly going deaf so maybe I just like beefier rides these days when the volume goes up. Feel wise, I do like lighter rides. They are more fun to play.

Thanks for the tips! I used the Memphis ride at a gig once. We filmed it and I didn't hear much ride cymbal at all. People around here really only seem to mic the drums themselves, but not the cymbals. Even on huge shows.

I have Paiste 2002s that will cut through anything, so I'm covered. But they are really loud for rehearsals or smaller intimate gigs (which I do sometimes.) I got this Sabian set is for rehearsals and smaller gigs, which is does well.

Anyway, i'm rambling... LOL... The point I'm trying to make is that I wanted a Sabian ride cymbal that's not really heavy, lower in pitch, has a strong stick sound, but not a heavy PING. I think this Omni may fit that description.
 
...Curious to hear opinions on the sounds, but also how these rides play well together (or not!)

Great video comparison! However, I'm not understanding what you mean when you ask if the 3 rides play well together? The Artisan says Jazz, and the other two, while more universal, say rock/pop/country to me. They are all great rides but sound wise I don't think they ever pair well and why would they? They are distinct to themselves.

BTW I've tried playing with several true rides on my kit before and have never been satisfied. Yes, I can and do sometimes ride my crashes. However, I usually found myself switching back and forth and often on the wrong ride and wrong side. It violates KISS and the continuity of the song suffers.
 
Great video comparison! However, I'm not understanding what you mean when you ask if the 3 rides play well together? The Artisan says Jazz, and the other two, while more universal, say rock/pop/country to me. They are all great rides but sound wise I don't think they ever pair well and why would they? They are distinct to themselves.

BTW I've tried playing with several true rides on my kit before and have never been satisfied. Yes, I can and do sometimes ride my crashes. However, I usually found myself switching back and forth and often on the wrong ride and wrong side. It violates KISS and the continuity of the song suffers.

You do understand my question, because you had an answer! ;)

Thanks for the input!
 
Nice comparison. I've got an Omni, and an old 20" A Zil. of some sort. I really like the Omni. It's got that great stick definition in the darker area of the pie. It doesn't ring for 10 min. after you play it either. I prefer the bell on the old A, but the Omni's bell is not too bad. I imagine that you'll not be returning it.
 
When I got my Artisan 22 medium I searched the cymbal sites for days listening to sound files. The thing that kept me coming back to the Artisan was the stick ping, which I found to be more prominent than other "jazz" rides in the class. Very dense. The bell is really musical, too. I love the cymbal and it records beautifully. I was fortunate to get mine on ebay at a greatly reduced price.

For the music I play having various rides in the set works pretty well. I'd actually like to add one or two more if I could find the space.
 
That Artisan light ride is gorgeous. The few ones I've played on have all been excessively trashy, and I find the medium ones to be too pingy. Alas, yours is certainly a gem.
 
That Artisan light ride is gorgeous. The few ones I've played on have all been excessively trashy, and I find the medium ones to be too pingy. Alas, yours is certainly a gem.

Thank you sir. I feel the same way about this light Artisan ride. Probably the most pleasing ride tone I've ever heard.
 
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